Pacemaker constantly firing

Firing

by Persephone - 2023-04-30 15:48:07

Hi Egg - Please do get medical attention since you're feeling so poorly. 

Firing is normally a term that I would associate with ICD users experiencing shocks, but you say that your heartrate keeps falling too low with your PM.

Please contact your doctors for advice

by Gemita - 2023-04-30 15:49:02

Michelle, firstly try to stay calm and tell yourself nothing bad is about to happen.  Your medication is doing what it should - keeping your heart rate down and with a tachy arrhythmia having a low heart rate is safer than having a high one.  In any event you have your pacemaker to prevent your heart rate from dropping below the lower rate limit.  However, it does sound to me as though your medication might be working too well in keeping your heart rate low and possibly triggering unwanted ectopic beats which can occur as our heart rates naturally fall during periods of rest.  It used to happen to me and the solution (for me personally) was to reduce the dosage of my medication.  I was also on Flecainide and Bisoprolol + another anti arrhythmic med.

I note you are on Lisinopril (Ace Inhibitor) and this med can cause low blood pressure, dizziness and headaches.  It could be that your medication needs adjusting since our heart conditions never stay the same.  Arrhythmias by their very nature are unpredictable.  They can worsen, stay the same or even get better, so our meds may need adjusting from time to time as well.

So, please have a word with your doctors about your medication, but try to stay calm since arrhythmias are fuelled by stress.  Keep well hydrated and get plenty of rest.  You could ask whether you could send a pacemaker transmission to your clinic for your doctors to check your downloads for any events as a cause for your symptoms?  I hope you will feel better soon.

Seek medical help

by Lavender - 2023-04-30 18:32:05

Two years ago, you posted that your pacemaker was firing a lot and your heart rate was low.  I don't understand because my pacemaker doesn't "fire " that I can feel. I'm 100% dependent, so mine's on duty all the time. Maybe you mean you have an ICD? 
 

In any case, seeing your doctor is a good idea. As Gemita said, if you have a bedside monitor communicating device, you could send a transmission when it happens so they can see what is going on.  

is your pacer unipolar?

by Tracey_E - 2023-05-01 11:34:01

That's the only reason I can think you'd feel the pacing. It's a very very small signal, simply mimicking what the heart should be doing on its own. A pacer pacing isn't going to cause dizziness and headaches. It's easy to get tunnel vision and blame everything on the pacer, but it sounds like something else is going on.

Pacing being felt

by Selwyn - 2023-05-01 16:50:38

You should not feel a pacemaker working.

You need to contact your pacing clinic. 

If you are having palpitations ( ie. heart beats that are felt) this is another reason to get an ECG and clinic attention.

firing and low heart rate

by islandgirl - 2023-05-08 00:01:11

I'm not sure what you are using to measure your heart rate, but I use my Apple watch.  When I showed my EP my watch he told me I am having PVCs.  The watch doesn't pick up the extra beat. I have numerous PVCs, with my pulse registering on my watch up to 20 beats lower, but consistently 5-7 beats lower during my waking hours.  At night it shows a consistent paced rate (I am 100% dependent).  The report generated at your interrogation should show your PVC frequency.  I often feel a pounding/bouncing, which the EP also said is from PVCs.

If you have an ICD, you would receive a unmistakable jolting shock if it was firing.